


Entirely Too Many Christmas Carols

by SunGirl



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Christmas fic, Fluff, Gen, Inspired by A Christmas Carol, can be read as romantic or friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-30
Updated: 2016-01-01
Packaged: 2018-01-06 15:21:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1108423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunGirl/pseuds/SunGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hermann is not suitably excited about Christmas, so Newt takes it upon himself to change that. And everyone knows that when you’re trying to fill somebody with Christmas spirit, there is really only one way. The Charles Dickens Method.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Marley's Ghost

**Author's Note:**

> Written as a Christmas gift for a friend who drew me an adorable Hermann as a present. Chapters are named after the original chapters of _A Christmas Carol_ by Charles Dickens.

When Hermann entered the lab on the seventeenth of December, he knew with more certainty than ever before that Newton Geiszler would be the cause of his inevitable insanity. He couldn’t stand Newt most days, but Christmas time was the worst, and this was the worst Christmas yet. 

Newton had somehow managed to drag an entire Christmas tree into the lab and set it up right _on_ the dividing line between their workspaces. To make matters worse, the tree was so smothered in lights and decorations that the green of it’s branches could hardly be seen. Not to mention that it had a distinct and dangerous-looking tilt, towards _Hermann’s_ side of the room, no less. 

But the decorations didn’t stop at the tree. Oh no. The entire lab was hung with strings of lights, garish baubles and kaiju figurines. (Honestly why anyone would make kaiju-themed Christmas ornaments was completely beyond Hermann. Then again it was possible that Newton had constructed them himself.) In addition to all of this, the floor was practically carpeted with tinsel, although to his credit Newt had left an open path so Hermann could walk to his lab space. This was a gesture Newton had extended since their first Christmas together, when Hermann had slipped on the unexpected glittery decoration and nearly fallen flat on his back.

And as if all of this weren’t bad enough, there was the music. Just as loud and strange-sounding as the junk Newton normally played, except twice as obnoxious because it was sung with disgustingly false cheer to the accompaniment of jingling bells. And, as always, Newt _insisted_ upon singing along.

“Will you turn that racket off, for God’s sake?” Hermann demanded as he passed Newt on the way to his own desk. 

“Nope!” Newt said cheerily. 

“I cannot get _any_ work done with that _noise_ in the background.” Hermann complained, picking up a piece of chalk and starting to write out an equation. 

“Awwww c’mon, Hermann!” Newt whined, “It’s Christmas!”

“Christmas is not for another eight days, Newton.”

“You know what I meant! It’s the Christmas _season_!”

“I don’t see why that should make such a difference. Christmas is just another holiday after all. And one that since I’ve met you has been damn miserable for me.”

“Oh, my poor Grinch.” Newt cooed, “Where’s your Christmas spirit?”

“Leave me alone, for heaven’s sake!” Hermann snarled. “I don’t need your damn ‘Christmas spirit’! I have work to do!”

“Uuuugh!” Newt groaned, “Why are you always such a grump about this? Every damn year, man! Did you have terrible Christmas’ as a child, or something?”

Hermann stopped writing and turned around, looking at Newt with raised eyebrows.

“Newton, my family is Jewish.”

“Fine, did you have really shitty Hanukkah's as a kid?”

Hermann turned back to the chalkboard.

“We never celebrated Hanukkah.”

“Wait, what?!”

“Our family was Jewish in principle rather than practice. We never went to temple or celebrated holidays or really did much of anything religious.”

Newt stared, agast.

“But-- But _presents_ Hermann!”

“Buying presents for four children on their birthday’s was frivolous enough. My parents didn’t need an extra eight days of pointless gift-giving.”

“Dude, I have seen pictures of your family. Shit, I’ve read newspaper articles about your family! You guys are rich as _fuck_ and you’re telling me your parents didn’t have the money to buy Hanukkah presents?”

“My mother and father had more important things to spend their hard-earned money on.” Hermann said stiffly.

Newt made an offended noise. 

“More important than their children’s happiness?!”

“Oh for God’s sake, don’t be so dramatic.” 

“I mean it! Didn’t it suck when you went back to school and all the other kids were bragging about their gifts and you hadn’t gotten anything? I mean, hell, that’s enough to make a kid feel like his parents don’t even love--”

“That’s quite enough!” Hermann interrupted. 

Newt was silent for a moment, then said in a very quiet voice,

“Right, sorry. Brain to mouth filter. Working on that.” He paused. “I’m right though, aren’t I?”

No response from Hermann.

“Yeah, I thought I might be.”

The awkward silence stretched on until finally Newt broke it with.

“Well fuck that! You’re celebrating Christmas with me this year! And I’ll make sure you have the best Christmas ever, in the history of Christmas!”

“That will not be necessary.” Hermann said dryly. 

“Awww c’mon, man! Don’t you want to have a fun winter holiday?”

“Not particularly. I’d rather be left alone to work in peace. Besides, I have no reason to celebrate Christmas. I am not a Christian, I never been one, nor do I plan on ever becoming one!”

“Pfft, so?” Newt snorted. “I’m not technically Christian either, but who cares? We’ll have a secular Christmas!”

“A what?”

“Oh you know. Christmas tree, eggnog, santa, and presents of course!”

“I see. This is just a ruse to convince me to buy you a gift.”

“No, man! That’s not what this is about! Don’t be such a dick!”

“Well whatever the motivation, I’m not interested!”

“Oh, come on, Scrooge! Have a little fun!”

Hermann glared at his lab partner.

“What did you call me?”

But Newt didn't answer. He was standing stock still, a wicked smile slowly spreading across his face.

“Oh my _God_. Oh my God, that’s it! That’s perfect!”


	2. The First of the Three Spirits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Bastien Gottlieb is the ghost of Christmas past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at me, finally updating this damn thing after two fucking years. At this rate I'll be done with the fic by the time I'm 25!

Hermann could tell immediately upon his return from lunch two days later that Newt was planning something.

It wasn’t exactly hard. Newt’s smile was a dead give away, as were his more-than-usually-frantic movements and the way he kept glancing at Hermann then quickly away, as if trying not to be caught.

Sure enough, Hermann had no sooner reached his desk than Newt said,

“Herm, c’mere! I got a surprize for you!”

“I’m not interested.” Hermann told him flatly.

“Awwww c’mon!” Newt whined. “You’ll like this one, I promise.”

“Newton, I have work to--”

“Pleeeeeeeeeeaaaase Hermann? C’mon. I’d owe you for like, ever.”

“Alright.” Hermann sighed heavily. “I’m sure you won’t leave me alone until I come see whatever inane thing you’ve found now, so I may as well get it over with.”

He made his way to Newt’s desk and stood next to the man, who was bouncing on his heels.

“Well, what is it?”

Newt gestured excitedly to his laptop. Following his gaze, Hermann saw that a video chat window had been opened there, and it took him a moment to register who was on the other end. When he did, he took a stunned step backwards.

“Bastien?!” 

The younger man grinned. 

“Good to see you too! It’s been too long since we talked!” 

Hermann turned to Newt, scowling. 

“How did you even get into contact with my brother?!” 

Newt giggled. 

“Just said I was a friend of yours. I actually tried Dietrich first, but he said Bastien was your favorite brother, so…” 

On the other line, Bastien laughed. 

“Is that true, Hermann? I’m touched.” 

Instead of answering, Hermann frowned suspiciously at his brother. 

“What has Newton put you up to?” 

“Nothing too nefarious or dreadful.” Bastien answered. “I promise.” 

“Somehow I doubt that.” 

Bastien sighed. 

“Okay, look, I’m sure by now Vater has written to you about--” 

“I’m not having this conversation.” Hermann snapped, already knowing where his brother was going with this. “Not here. Not in front of--” 

“Bye Hermann!” 

He jumped. Newt was standing at the door to the lab. 

“Taking my lunch hour.” He said with a smile, “Be back later.” 

“Newton, what-- You cannot just--” 

But Newt was already gone. 

Hermann turned back to Bastien, glaring. 

“What is going on?” 

Bastien laughed. 

“Well, according to your friend--” 

“He is not my friend.” Hermann interrupted sharply, to which Bastien simply rolled his eyes and continued, 

“According to him, I’m supposed to ‘find out why you’re so grumpy’ and ‘remind you of the carefree little boy you used to be’.” 

Hermann groaned. 

“God, that idiot…” 

Bastien shook his head. 

“Well, you’ve got to at least give him credit for trying.” 

“Trying what, exactly…?” 

“I think he’s trying to cheer you up.” Bastien said, shrugging. 

“I don’t need cheering up.” Hermann protested, “I’m perfectly fine.” 

Bastien gave him a look, the same one he’d been using since before he could talk, that always made Hermann feel unaccountably guilty and got Bastien whatever he wanted. 

“Alright.” Hermann relented, sighing. “Yes, Vater’s been writing to me about his new project.” 

Bastien nodded. 

“And?” 

Hermann sighed. 

“And I disagree with it. I think it’s foolish and a waste of valuable resources.” 

“I’m guessing he didn’t like hearing that?” Bastien asked. 

Hermann shook his head. 

“We aren’t speaking.” 

“Typical.” Bastien scoffed. “He never could take criticism.” 

“He certainly couldn’t.” Hermann agreed darkly. 

“Not that that ever stopped you.” Bastien pointed out, laughing. “Remember that time you corrected his maths back in primary school? You were what, eleven? The look on his face! Like a robot going into shutdown.” 

Hermann shook his head. 

“Out of all the things you might have remembered about our childhood, that’s what you chose?” 

“It was funny!” Bastien shrugged. “I mean, at the time it was terrifying, but now it’s funny. Besides, most of my good childhood memories involve you in one way or another.” 

Hermann blinked at him, surprised by both the statement and the matter-of-fact way in which it was given. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

Bastien frowned. 

“What do you think? It means you helped me out a lot, and I’m grateful. Look, Hermann, I know you inherited Vater’s inability to deal with emotions properly, which is why I don’t say things like this often, but I… You should know how important you were to me when we were kids. You and Dietrich and Karla, you all protected me, taught me… Hell, you did a better job of raising me than our parents ever did. Especially you.” 

“Bastien, you don’t have to--” 

“No.” The younger man cut Hermann off. “Let me finish. Remember when I was twelve and I built that catapult?” 

Hermann managed a small smile at the memory. 

“You designed it yourself. You were so proud.” 

Bastien nodded. 

“Until I broke the front window with it. Vater was so angry...” 

Hermann frowned. 

“That was the first time he struck you. I wasn’t there in time to stop him…” 

“But you would have.” Bastien sighed, “And you were the one who gave me bandages, you held me while I cried, tried to explain to me that it wasn’t my fault… The point is, without you, my life would have been very different. I would have been very different. I want you to know how grateful I am that I had you. That I still have you.” 

Hermann just stared at his brother for a long moment. Finally he swallowed slowly, careful to make sure his voice didn’t crack or waver when he spoke. 

“Thank you.” 

Bastien nodded. 

“I figured it was something you should hear. Especially if you’ve been fighting with Vater. He has a talent for making people feel worthless, and you should know that no matter what he says, you aren’t.” 

Not trusting himself to speak, Hermann simply nodded.


	3. Chapter 3 - The Second of the Three Spirits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Mako Mori is the ghost of Christmas present(s).

Hermann spent the next few days entirely absorbed in his work. Some new data had been found on the breach, and he was determined to make as much use of it as possible. About six pm on the fourth day, however, his concentration was broken by a soft voice.

“Excuse me, Doctor Gottlieb?”

Hermann turned with a soft smile to look at the one person in the Shatterdome he could never be annoyed with for interrupting his work.

“Yes, Miss Mori?”

The twelve year old girl bent her head slightly in greeting before saying shyly,

“I was just wondering if you could help me with something?”

Hermann hesitated. He really should get back to his work, but he had never been able to refuse Mako anything. And he had a sneaking suspicion she was well aware of that fact.

“Of course.” He said, nodding. “What is it?”

“Well…” Mako said slowly. “It will be Christmas very soon, and I have many, many presents to wrap. I do not have time to finish all of them on my own…”

Hermann frowned a little at this strange request.

“I… Certainly there’s someone better suited…”

Mako shook her head.

“Everyone is very busy. I’ve asked Newt, but he is…”

“Sleeping.” Hermann finished for her, remembering his attempt to wake Newton that morning, which had been met with complaints that he was ‘hungover as fuck’ and demands that he be ‘left to suffer in peace.’ “Yes, I know.”

Mako looked at him pleadingly.

Hermann sighed.

“Yes, Miss Mori. Of course I will help you with your gifts.”

An excited grin spread across the girl’s face.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

Hermann couldn’t help but smile a bit.

“You’re very welcome.”

Mako took hold of his hand and began to gently tug him out into the hallway.

“It’s not true what Chuck says.” She stated with the kind of certainty only a child could possess. “I don’t believe it at all. You are a very nice person.”

“Thank you.” Hermann responded, shaking his head a little.

It didn’t take much imagination to guess the sort of things Ranger Hanson’s son might have said about him. As it turned out, he didn’t have to guess at all. Mako told him.

“Chuck says you’re mean.” She declared. “But I think he’s mean, and that’s what I told him!”

Hermann laughed softly at the thought. Chuck Hansen was three years older than Mako, and a full foot taller, but that had never stopped her, and somehow he doubted it ever would. 

“Chuck also says that Newt’s crazy.” Mako continued pensively. “And he wants to be a kaiju. But I don’t think that’s true either. I didn’t like it that he said that. I told him it was very mean and Newt is very nice and he should apologise.”

“And did he?” Hermann asked curiously.

“No.” Mako said, shaking her head a little. “So I punched him.”

Hermann sighed. He couldn’t exactly say he was surprised.

“I’m sure Newton would appreciate you defending him.” He told the child. “But I don’t think he’d want you to use physical violence to do it. You know better than that, don’t you?”

“I guess.” Mako shrugged. “But it made me feel a lot better.”

Mako stopped suddenly as they arrived at a door. She pulled out a key and stood on tiptoes to unlock it.

“This is my very own bedroom!” She said proudly, leading Hermann inside. “Sensei let me have it for my birthday!”

“It’s very beautiful.” Hermann told her, knowing what was expected of him.

The room was quite small, containing only a bed and dresser, which left just about enough room for two people to sit cross-legged on the rug. The bed was currently covered in a mountain of boxes and brightly colored paper, which looked ready to topple at any minute.

Mako went immediately to a radio on the dresser and turned on a much more pleasant sounding version of the irritating Christmas music Newt had been playing lately. She picked a few cookies out of an open box next to the radio and handed one to Hermann.

“I made these!” She told him proudly. “Tell me if I did it right!”

Hermann took a small bite of the cookie and smiled.

“This is delicious. Excellent job!”

Mako beamed at him. “Thank you very very much!”

She sat down on the floor, placing the box of cookies between them, and Hermann followed her lead.

The little girl reached up and took two boxes off of the bed, handing one to Hermann.

“You can use any kind of paper you want.” She told him with a smile. “Thank you so much for helping me!”

“Of course.” Hermann agreed, nodding.

Not quite knowing where to start among the multitude of choices, he picked a roll of paper at random and laid it out in front of him. He placed the box on top, and after doing some quick mental calculations took the scissors that Mako offered him and cut the paper to the appropriate size. He folded the paper carefully, pressing a clean line into each crease as he went and taping at the appropriate places, before looking up to see Mako watching him with interest.

“Wow.” She said quietly. “Yours is so neat, and you did it so fast!”

Hermann shrugged.

“And you didn’t waste any paper!” Mako continued, clearly impressed. “I always cut too much, and then I have to trim it down and throw the scraps away…” She paused, thoughtful for a moment before asking excitedly, “Can you do it again?”

“Sure.” Hermann said, unsure why the girl was so enthralled. He took the box she offered him and repeated the process while Mako watched in fascination.

“Wow.” She said again when he had finished. “You always cut just the right amount…”

“It’s just simple math…” Hermann said, shrugging again.

Mako’s eyes lit up.

“Can you teach me?”

And so he did, explaining to her how he’d estimated the surface area of the box and cut out that same amount of paper, and how being careful with the folds made the package look neater. Despite his father’s encouragement, teaching had never been something Hermann considered himself good at. But Mako had always been an exception. She was a patient listener, followed directions carefully, and didn’t looked at him like an alien she was preparing to dissect. Somehow, the project had become a lesson, and Hermann found himself enjoying it.

Mako’s skills improved rapidly, and by the time all the boxes had been wrapped, Hermann found himself full of pride at his student’s progress.  
The girl sent him off back to the lab with a ziploc bag of cookies that she had insisted he take, thanking him over and over for the help and waving to him from her bedroom door as he disappeared down the hallway.

Upon returning to the lab, Hermann was surprised to find Newton there and in good spirits, no sign of the supposed ‘hangover’ that had plagued him that morning.

He looked up with a grin as Hermann entered.

“Hey, man. Where have you been? Are those cookies?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooooo I actually got another chapter out in the same year as the previous one! I'm gonna try and finish this thing by Christmas this year, hopefully I can actually make that happen.


	4. Chapter 4 - The Third of the Three Spirits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sasha and Aleksis Kaidonovsky are the ghosts of Christmas future.

By the time Christmas Eve arrived, Hermann was more or less expecting Newton to pull some ridiculous stunt, but the smaller man wasn’t even in the lab when he arrived that morning. In fact, nothing at all eventful happened until around dinner time, when a loud female voice spoke suddenly from the door to the lab.

“Still working so close to Christmas?”

Hermann looked up to see Sasha Kaidonovsky watching him, her face wearing a familiar warm, disarming smile.

“Good evening, Ranger Kaidonovsky.” He said, returning her smile.

“Which one of us?” A deep voice said as Aleksis Kaidonovsky appeared behind his wife, laughing softly. He frowned when he saw Hermann at the blackboard. 

“Working so late?”

Hermann glanced at the clock on his computer.

“It’s barely six…”

“But it is Christmas, Ptichka!” Sasha protested, taking Hermann’s greeting as an invitation into the lab. “Time for everyone to celebrate!”

“But I don’t--”

“Your friend told us you would not be wanting to have fun tonight.” Aleksis shook his head sadly. “But we did not know it was so bad as this!”

“It’s not as-- It’s not bad at all!” Hermann argued. “I’m just--”

“No, no, no!” Sasha said, shaking a finger scoldingly at him. “Tonight is not for working. Tonight we go out, to party! And you come with us!”

“Well, I don’t know if…”

“Was not a question.” Aleksis said, putting one of his bear-size arms around Hermann’s shoulders and steering him towards the door.

“I… Alright.” Hermann sighed, giving in and allowing himself to be led out into the hallway. “But I’ll need to get my coat…”

“I got it already!” Said an unfortunately familiar voice from behind them.

Newton stood there in his leather jacket, plus obnoxiously festive scarf and hat, Herman’s wool coat draped over one arm.

“What-- How-- How did you get into my room?” Hermann asked him accusingly.

“Cleaning staff let me in.” Newt shrugged. “I told them I lost my key.”

Hermann looked up at the Jaeger pilots next to him, each of whom was about twice Newton’s size, half hoping they’d have a stern remark about the younger scientist’s breaking and entering. Both Kaidonovskys, however, were simply wearing expressions of gratitude and excitement.

Newton offered Hermann his coat. “Here you go, man.”

“Thank you.” Hermann answered, taking it, his tone suggesting exactly the opposite of gratitude.

Sasha frowned at him as he pulled the coat on.

“This is your coat?” She asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow. “You will be cold, Ptichka!”

“I’m fine.” Hermann told her, buttoning it up.

“Ptichka?’” Newton whispered as the four of them started down the hall, his voice only loud enough to be heard by Hermann, who glared at him.

\--

It turned out that Sasha had been right about his coat, not that Hermann would ever have admitted that. Still, he was freezing. By the time they reached the bar, because of course, _of course_ they were going to a bar, his fingers and ears had both gone numb and it was all he could do to stop his teeth from chattering.

Aleksis ushered them all inside and loudly greeted the mob of patrons, who sent up a cheer in return. Sasha stepped forward too and the cheer went up again, even louder this time.

“Wow.” Newton whispered, watching them. “Your parents are popular.”

“Well I expect as Jaeger pilots they--” Hermann stopped when he realized what Newton had just said. “The Rangers are not my--”

“Oh man, they totally are though. Didn’t you hear Sasha fussing over how you don’t have a warm enough coat?”

“They’re the slightest bit protective, but there’s no need to exaggerate like--”

“Dude. You do know ‘ptichka’ means ‘little bird’, right?”

“...what?”

“Yeah.” Newton nodded, gesturing to Sasha, who was now at the bar getting drinks. “As far as she’s concerned, you’re a skinny, grumpy baby bird and she’s taking you under her metaphorical wing.”

Hermann wanted to say something in argument to this, but the best he could come up with was; 

“You speak Russian?”

“Mhm.” Newt nodded. “Took two years of it in high school. It comes in handy every so often.”

“You don’t say.” Hermann mumbled, glaring at him.

At that moment Sasha reappeared with two tall glasses of an amber liquid that could have been any number of alcoholic drinks as far as Hermann knew. He’d never really liked drinking; frustration at the way it slowed down his thinking had always far outweighed any pleasure associated with it.

But of course Sasha slung her arms over the two scientist’s shoulders and asked, 

“What would you boys want to drink tonight, hmmm?”

Newton shrugged.

“Just beer’s fine.”

“I-- I’d rather not--” Hermann began, but Aleksis cut him off.

“Do not worry, we pay for everything. Our Christmas gift.”

“Oh, no, it’s not the money…” Hermann tried to explain. “It’s just that I don’t normally…”

“Not even on Christmas?” Sasha asked him sincerely.

“Well, no, I--”

“Well tonight is different!” Aleksis declared as if he expected no question to his authority, which given his size was probably fair. “Tonight I buy you a drink, we party, you have fun and dance with my beautiful wife!”

“With Sasha?” Hermann asked, confused and a bit startled.

“You not like to dance with beautiful woman?” Aleksis asked, frowning. Then his face broke into a knowing smile. “You would rather dance with man who is named after lizard?”

It took Hermann a moment to realize to whom Aleksis was referring, at which point he immediately shook his head, his face flushing. He was almost relieved to see that Newton looked similarly mortified.

“I’d really rather not dance at all.” Hermann protested. “If it’s all the same to--”

“Ah, but it is fun!” Sasha promised him. “You will see!”

To Hermann’s great surprise, Newton suddenly came to his defense.

“Aw man, you guys know how it is though, with us science nerds. Dancing’s just not our thing. You two go have fun though, I’ll stay with Hermann and make sure he doesn’t sneak away.”

The Kaidonovskys seemed to consider this for a moment, before shrugging at each other and heading into the crowd.

“We’ll be right back, Ptichka!” Sasha called over her shoulder.

Hermann winced at the nickname.

He stood in silence for a few moments.

“Thank you.” He said quietly, glancing up at Newton.

“Hmm?” The other man asked. “What for?"

“For the… For telling them to…”

“Oh, that.” Newton shrugged. “I know how you feel, man. Dancing’s uncomfortable as hell. Whether you’re doing good or bad, everybody’s staring at you. It’s weird.”

Hermann raised an eyebrow at him.

“I thought you _liked_ being the center of attention?”

“Not _all the time_ , man.” Newton shook his head. “That would be fucking exhausting. Plus, my relationship with attention is… kinda weird anyway. I mean, I want it really bad, y’know? I try so hard to get it, but when I actually do, it’s… it’s mostly just scary.”

Hermann thought about this for a moment.

“It seems we may actually have something in common.”

Newton laughed.

“Now how’s _that_ for a Christmas miracle?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, look at me, updating my fics like a responsible adult! Really gonna try and get the last chapter out on Christmas, or maybe a couple days before if I'm lucky.
> 
> Also, please excuse my shitty, google translate Russian.


	5. Chapter 5 - The End of It

Altogether, the previous night had not been terrible. In fact, Hermann might have gone so far as to say he’d enjoyed himself.

Still, he wasn’t entirely pleased to be woken the next morning by a pounding on his door and the sound of Newton’s voice, shouting,

“Wake up, Hermann! Presents!”

He rolled over and glared at the clock on his nightstand.

“It’s seven am, Newton!”

“Awww, c’mon!” Newton complained through the door. “You always sleep so late! Is it gonna kill you to get up early for once?”

Hermann sighed.

“Alright. Just give me some time to get dressed.”

“Ugh, fine.” Newton complained. “Put on your old man clothes, I’ll be in the lab.”

Hermann shook his head as he got up. He made no particular effort to be ready quickly, and about twenty minutes later arrived in the lab to find Newton pacing the floor around his ramshackle Christmas tree, which seemed to now be leaning even more dangerously towards Hermann’s desk.

“ _Finally!_ ” Newton said excitedly when he spotted the other scientist. “I’ve been waiting for you _forever_ , man!” 

“I seriously doubt that.” Hermann told him.

“Whatever.” Newton shrugged. “C’mon, open your presents!”

Hermann raised an eyebrow at him.

“Presents?”

“Yeah! What, did you not expect to get presents? I mean, you at least had to know I was gonna get you something…”

“Well, I… I suppose, thank you…”

“Aww, you’re welcome!” Newton grinned, picking up a clumsily wrapped package from under the tree. “Here, this is mine. For, you, I mean. Y’know, from me, to you… you get it.”

Hermann took the item warily, feeling guilt settle into the bottom of his stomach. He hadn’t expected this at all, hadn’t thought to get anything for the other man.

“Go on!” Newton insisted excitedly, open it!”

Hermann turned the package over, finding a tapped edge and gently tugging it loose.

Newton sighed dramatically.

“Oh my _God_ , just rip it!”

Hermann shook his head, continuing to unwrap the paper carefully despite Newton’s protests.

Inside was a plain green mug with a thin blue line around the rim. Hermann frowned at it.

“Is this…?”

“The one I broke last summer?” Newton asked. “Yeah. I mean, it’s not exact, but I think it’s pretty similar. I found it at that tea place downtown… Do you like it?”

Hermann was silent for a long moment.

“Yes. Thank you, Newton.”

Newton frowned at him.

“Are you sure? You look kind of upset.”

“I… I didn’t, uh…”

“Didn’t what?” Newton asked, looking concerned.

“Get anything for you.” Hermann said quietly.

“Oh.” Newton shook his head. “Dude, don’t even worry about it.”

“But…”

“No, really, it’s not a big deal.” He grinned. “Hey, tell you what, you can watch a Christmas movie with me later. That’ll be your present to me!”

Hermann hesitated. He wasn’t thrilled about the idea, but it would be incredibly rude to refuse.

“Of course.”

“Great!” Newton responded, beaming. “But first you gotta open the rest of your presents!” He dove under the tree again, examining the few parcels eagerly. 

“Oh! This one’s from Mako!”

Hermann stared in surprise.

“From Miss Mori? That really wasn’t necessary…”

“Oh, just shut up and open it!” Newton said, shoving the elegantly wrapped present into Hermann’s hands.

Hermann sighed, carefully opening the paper as he had before. Inside was a box, which contained several small figures. Hermann examined them carefully, a smile spreading over his face when he realized what they were. Five folded paper jaegers, small enough to fit in the palm of his hand, rested in a bed of brightly colored tissue paper. Next to them was a folded, handwritten note.

‘Doctor Gottlieb, thank you for helping me with my paper wrapping. I hope you like what I made for you and you have a very good Christmas celebration. From, Mako Mori.’

“What is it?” Newton asked eagerly.

Hermann showed him.

“Awww!” Newton grinned brightly. “That’s so sweet! Isn’t she cute?”

Hermann nodded, setting the box gently down on his desk.

When he turned back, Newton was offering him another package. “This is the last one. It’s from your parents.”

“My… You mean the Rangers Kaidonovsky?”

“Yeah. Relax, man, I’m kidding about the parents thing.”

Hermann sighed, pulling open the paper. Inside was a mound of folded fabric. He let it fall open to reveal an enormous army green parka, the hood lined with thick fur.

“Wow.” Newton said, laughing. “I guess they really thought you needed a warmer coat.”

Hermann nodded slowly. “I… It seems a bit large…”

“You should try it on!” Newton encouraged.

Hermann frowned uncertainly, but hesitantly shrugged on the coat. The sleeves hung down completely over his hands, and the bottom hem reached past his knees. Newton laughed, lifting the hood and pulling it down over Hermann’s face.

“Oh my God…” He said, giggling. “You look like a little kid!”

Hermann sighed, offering Newton a tired smile as he pushed the hood up out of his eyes and tugged off the coat.

“Well… it was very kind of them.”

Newton nodded.

“Yeah, they’re kinda scary at first, but they’re really nice if they like you. Anyway, we should totally watch that movie now!”

“Alright.” Hermann agreed. “What did you have in mind?”

“Have you ever heard of A Christmas Carol?”

“I’ve heard of it…” Hermann said uncertainly.

“Aw, dude, it’s the best!” Newton told him. “You’re gonna love it!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, I finally finished this thing!! I know I said I'd get the last chapter up by Christmas, and I missed by a couple days, but I hope this was close enough. Hope everyone enjoys!


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